annonThe as saying “All religions are almost

annonThe as saying “All religions are almost

annonThe extent to which Nationalists should pursue their goals is a complexissue.

The possible changes as well as the losses must be weighed.There is a myriad of complex issues surrounding the situation. WithoutNationalists making changes, Italy would not be unified, Apartheid wouldstill exist in South Africa, and many other changes would not haveoccurred on this planet. I believe that Nationalists should try tosolve their problems and get what they want without using violence as atool.Guseppe Mazzini was a major factor in the unification of Italy.

Hestarted his fight for unity with non-violent means. He tried wearingblack clothing to mourn the persecuted, and he attempted to educate thepeople about the dangers of foreign rule in Italy. Gradually however heescalated to more violent means of getting his way. He stirred feelingsof Nationalism, brotherhood and religion. In 1848 he started arevolution in Rome.

The Pope was forced to flee the city, and Mazziniestablished a Roman Republic. The entire republic was built upon theone-time rage of the masses.Mazzini simply stirred the emotions of the people, but they didn’treally feel that strongly about it. The population of Rome didn’t careenough to fight for the retention of the city. The French were easilyable to re-take the city, and return it to the Pope.Mahatma Gandhi represents the other side of the spectrum, throughouthis life he used only non-violent means to get what he wanted.

His maingoal was to get Moslems and Hindus to live peacefully together. He wasquoted as saying “All religions are almost as dear to me as myHinduism”. One instance of his attempts to use non-violent means toaccomplish his goal was his two hundred and thirty-kilometer march tothe ocean in order to extract salt illegally. This was in protest ofBritain’s salt monopoly in India. Other non-violent acts that he usedas tools to persuade the government to listen to his goals were his sixto twenty-one day fasts. At one time Gandhi used a fast to force hisrelease from prison.

The prison would have been held responsible forhis death and would have major pressure put on it to close down. Gandhihad become such a hero to the population that, if the government allowedhim to die due to starvation, he would become a martyr.The South African freedom fighter Nelson Mandella is another testimonyto the ability to use non-violent methods in order to fight forNationality. He wanted to do away with apartheid in the area. In 1952he helped to organize the Nonviolent Defiance Campaign. This wasobviously nonviolent in nature, and was an extremely helpful tool in theabolition of apartheid.

In 1964 he was tried for treason, and receiveda sentence of life imprisonment. He was released in 1988, and ran forPrime Minister of South Africa, and won. His struggle came to representthe goal of freedom for Blacks in South Africa. He accomplished all ofthis without using any violence at all.

Each of the preceding Nationalists’ success was based on the violencethat was used in their quests. If someone fights for what they believein, using violence as a tool they will fail. The people supporting himwill want his leadership simply because he is strong, not smart. Themasses will lose support of their leader as soon as they realize that heis not as strong as they think. The only right way to go aboutnationalism is using nonviolent techniques. The ends do not justify themeans.Tavis Dowling